The blog will offer purely objective and candid analyses for a better understanding of the events that keep happening and that provide dynamism and direction to the flow of the history and development of the human societies. Being a forum, the comments and opinions from readers whether for or against the views expressed in it, are gratefully welcome. Suggestions for improving the blog are welcome.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Et tu, Hassan Nisar?

June 18, 2012

By Saeed Qureshi

If
Hassan Nisar is also one of the recipients of the graft money from Malik Riaz,
the Pakistan’s billionaire property tycoon: then it definitely betokens the
demise of fair journalism in Pakistan. His name is therein the list with the soul-dampening
information that, “ hereceived 1 Crore and 10 Lakhs
Rupees: Money transferred from Account Title Bahria
Town (Pvt) Limited, Account Number42279-2 at Habib
Bank Limited, LDA Plaza Branch, Lahore,
Code 1315, SWIFT: HABBPKKAX315 10 Marla
Plot in Bahria Town.

In
the TV Talk appearances as a guest or as a host in his own popular program “Choraha”,
or in his Jang columns, he unleashes an avalanche of blistering censure against
the corrupt individuals and agencies in Pakistan. He is adored and acknowledged
as one among the whole crowd of journalists for scathing views and tongue
lashing against a whole range of corruption, greed, moral degeneration and a
failed system of governance. He is the most aggressive and unsparing critic of
the incumbent government and the power wielders and their sleazy exploits in
self-aggrandizement and money grabbing.

His defiant
rhetoric did not spare the army generals, the bureaucrats, the highly placed
government functionaries and exploitative business magnates and classes for
plundering Pakistan at the cost of the peoples’ burgeoning woes. But all of a
sudden , his image looks so besmirched and hollow that one tends to believe as
if his assertion of moral principles and manifestation of pious platitudes was
a mere charade that has been lifted in such a freakish fashion.

It’s
hard to believe that he has been erroneously implicated in this scam as all the
particulars are self-explanatory. It appears utterly improbable for him to get absolved
from the calumny that has demolished his thus far adorable public profile of
all these years. The building of a reputation comes in stages, by hard work and
over a prolonged period of test and trials. But it can be washed off instantaneously
and one stands tarnished by the surreptitious and sudden developments as the
one we are witnessing now. One stands exposed in a jiffy no matter how cleverly
he masks his real intentions or covers up behind- the-door activities by thick
blankets of subterfuge and ruse.

The
fundamental question stands out that why this former Bahria Town boss was squandering
big chunks of money on a bunch of leading and most prominent journalist whose
programs are watched both in and outside Pakistan by countless people. Understandably
it was to purchase their loyalties in favor of the exploitative groups, lobbies
and individuals whose front man is Malik Riaz. The charge could be credible that
the perks and grafts given to Arsalan Iftikhar was aimed at silencing or
blackmailing the chief justicefor going
soft on the gubernatorial cases pending against the powerful persons.

This
projection could be plausible when seen in the light of a highly uncalled and
offensive comment made by Luqman Mubashar, a shrewish anchor of the Dunya TV
channel. In one of his programs in which a stalwart of MQM and Fauzia Wahab
were guests, he demanded in a louder pitch to hang the chief justice. He was egregiously
disrespectful and it was evident that he was communicating his odious marks to someone
somewhere. Otherwise a minimum modicum of decency and decorum is normally
observedin television programs, all the more about the
head of Supreme Court who should command respect if not total support.

That
was most distasteful demeanor of this anchor who became boorish as to leave the
basic norms of a normal human being. Fauzia Wahab despite being a prominent
member of the PPP and averse to chief justice did not agree with his vicious and
scornful outburst. The rabid nexus between Luqman, Mehar Bukhari, Malik Riaz
and prime minister’s son Abdul Qadir Gilani was established in full public
glare on the TV screen when they thought they were talking in camera.

There
is no comparison between Luqman: a cheap and sold out media person and Hassan
Nisar to be sitting on a high moral pedestal. Hassan’s terse postures and
uncharitable, scathing and rather brutal critique of the stinking political and
socio-economic system, the rapacious violation of the constitution and laws,
the bad governance and rampant plunder by powerful lobbies and individuals,
earned him the respect and aplomb ofthe watchers of his TV program.

And
now he seems to be half way through an abyss that eliminates the infinite
difference of between him and the notorious lot of media in regard to an
upright conduct. It is a steep downfall that cannot be rescaled upward by tons
of explanations on the part of him or his zealous fans.

Human
suffer from temptations for worldly pleasures and enticements and Hassan Nisar
is no exception. But what is intriguing or painful is that he was an icon among
the journalists for his fiery exhortations against the evil forces. A drastic
downgrading from that sublime stature is not only mind boggling but squarely
distressing for his admirers. How is he going to cope with this sordid turn of events
is too hard a feat to be conjectured correctly?

About Me

Columnist/Analyst/ Former Diplomat.
After obtaining my master’s degrees in Urdu and English literature from Punjab University, I started my career by teaching in a college. Thereafter, I had a stint in the diplomatic service of Pakistan. Finally I landed in journalism, an occupation that I am wedded to for over 20 years now.
I am a strong believer in a civil society and staunch opponent of exploitation in all forms.